Loghain, Puppies, Mischief
by storm-stellar
Summary: AU, set in modern times. It involves the life of Loghain when he decides to get a puppy, a little  and adorable  golden retriever he names Maric. Rated T, honestly I don't know why but my stories are rated T by default so. Yeah. Just in case.


A conversation on twitter with liquoricecharms and inafitofbroodypique led to this idea; Maric being a puppy. So naturally Loghain would come in and be his owner and adore the little puppy to bits. This became a plot bunny which resulted in the fic that you're about to read.

Set in modern times, so it's AU, and uh. Yeah, Maric becomes an adorable puppy.

Read and review please! I need to know how this idea would play out, because if it's well-received I might write another chapter. If not I'll scrap it lol.

Enjoy!

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><p>Loghain never really saw himself as a pet person. The idea of taking care of a fragile, and typically adorable young thing just didn't sit right with him. It wasn't that he disliked animals or had a bad experience with them - he just couldn't see himself taking care of a living thing that was so dependent on him for survival.<p>

This particular puppy though, caught his attention the moment he laid eyes on it. And there was no turning back since.

As he locked the door of his apartment, he set down the cardboard box in his hands, as gently as he could. Inside it, a little golden retriever puppy curled in the corner, sleeping. His eyes were shut tight, the body moving ever so slightly as Loghain sighed in relief.

It all started when he went by the pet shop. Loghain knew the owners, Herren and Wade, and had on occasion, helped out at the shop, feeding the dogs or just minding the store. One particular week, he noticed a new puppy, sleeping in the corner of a cage. "Barely a week old, that one," Herren sighed, placing a few boxes of dog food next to the cage, "and quite weak too. He might not make it, the poor thing. And he's such a fine breed too, his mother was a beautiful one."

Two weeks later, the little puppy was giving what Herren described as a living nightmare. Escaping from his cage just to run about and explore the shop, he would knock things over, or just disappear behind stacks of boxes, forcing Herren to navigate his way through the box fort and take the mischievous little thing back to his cage by force. Though he was slightly smaller than his expected size, he made up for that with sheer energy and curiosity. "He's a little rascal, he is," Herren burst out in exasperation as he lifted the what-must-have-been-sulking-puppy from behind the boxes and plopping him into the cage, "and to think when he first came here he had to be isolated from the rest because of his weak constitution." It was precisely because of that though, that Loghain decided to take the puppy in. Even though the odds were stacked against the little guy, he beat them. This one was a fighter, and (forgive the pun) an underdog, which Loghain both admired and respected.

Sitting himself down on the floor next to the box, he thought of what to call this addition to his family. As a short, wagging tail popped up from the box, the puppy leaped out, plopping himself onto Loghain's legs and proceeding to grab some of Loghain's jeans into his mouth. Laughing slightly, Loghain patted him, with it being reciprocated with numerous licks on his fingers. "I think...I'll call you Maric," Loghain stood up as the puppy ran around his legs, "a name fit for a king."

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><p>Leaning against his room's door, Loghain downed the last bit of coffee in his mug, watching Maric in amusement. Even though his house wasn't huge, Maric seemed to be having the time of his life exploring his new. He'd disappear from Loghain's view into the living room, only to pop up running to the kitchen and looking through every corner. As he dashed out of the kitchen and ran towards Loghain, he leaped onto Loghain's foot and sat there, pulling at his jeans legs as though wanting Loghain to explore the house with him. Loghain couldn't help but laugh a bit every time Maric did that, and would just lift his leg and walk with Maric to the other rooms. Repeat the process a few times and Loghain got accustomed to just letting the puppy run around. Setting his basket down near his room's door, he was about to fit the blanket into it only to feel it be snatched from his fingers from a little puppy that was running away. "Maric!" Loghain laughed as he landed on his side reaching for the cloth, while Maric ran away from him, blue cloth flapping behind him in tow.<p>

_Mygod he's fast. And playful. And just the little troublemaker Herren always complained about._

An hour later, the (slightly damp) blanket was fitted into the basket with Maric sitting on top and gnawing at his new bone. Night was approaching and Maric's energy levels were (finally) depleting. Before 10pm hit, his eyes were already closed, snoozing away in his basket. Loghain turned the lights off, and went to sleep.

Before long, there was another problem. He was awoken by...yes, it was definitely a howl. A much softer howl than he expected, but a howl nonetheless. Blinking his half-asleep eyes, he reached over to the clock on the bedside table, the neon-green light indicating it was 3.27am. Turning his attention to Maric's basket, he found it empty. His eyes flew open, jolting himself awake and scrambled out of bed, moving towards the hall where the whimpers and scratches got louder. There he was. Maric was at the door of the house, pawing frantically at it and still whimpering. Letting out a small howl, Loghain felt a painful twinge inside his chest. He sounded so...sad, and afraid. Sensing that Loghain was there in the same room, Maric ran straight for him, colliding into his legs and staying as close as he could to his new friend, still whimpering. Scooping Maric into his arms, the puppy struggled slightly, but calmed down when Loghain sat in front of the basket, his hand on the back of Maric's head. "You're okay now, you're okay," Loghain flipped the light on and set Maric back down into his basket, using his hands to pet his head, "you're safe here."

Sitting in front of him, Maric's eyes never left Loghain's. Even while Loghain was petting Maric, he made no move to leap onto Loghain, or just run into his lap for a puppy's version of a cuddle (which he'd experience for just about the entire afternoon). He just...sat there. Fidgeting slightly, but his eyes never looking away. "It's as though you're...begging me, somehow," Loghain breathed, his finger tapped the puppy's nose once and still he did not blink, "like you're begging me not to go." Picking him up again, he sat Maric on his bed. Confused, the puppy tilted his head while Loghain moved towards the lights. Flipping them off, that's when he realised.

_He's scared of the dark. _

Upon the sudden lack of light, Maric immediately started to whimper, rooted to the spot near the headboard. Running back to the bed, he quickly lay next to Maric, placing a comforting hand onto his head. It was then that Loghain felt the panic in Maric.

While it was a bit of an unsaid thing, animals were alive - that meant you could feel emotions off of them. Essentially, animals were non-human forms of life, which, when thought about properly, wasn't something that people came into contact with everyday. Loghain had to admit, the first time he sat in a cage with one of the older dogs, Sky, at an animal shelter, he was a little bit scared. Sky was a husky, and a large husky at that. Without standing on her hind legs, she'd reach his hips. While Sky was the friendliest dog at the shelter, if she decided to, she could maul him to pieces. When he touched her coat, it was warm, and as she moved with his hand still on her, the muscle movement finally got him to realize - she was very much alive. He felt slight hesitation at the time, but she made up for it with plenty of licks to his face and shirt. He left the shelter that day with her fur all over his jacket.

It was the same with Maric, just a whole lot worse. Though he proved himself to be a boisterous and energetic puppy, Loghain saw how he was so much more vulnerable than he already was. He felt the tense muscles in the puppy's back, how his entire body was shaking just that little bit, how Maric was torn between his immense fear of the dark and expressing that fear, and wanting to keep himself together since Loghain was right in front of him, only allowing himself to whimper instead of howl. "It's okay buddy, I'm here now," he whispered as Maric's body stopped fidgeting slightly, keeping himself quiet upon feeling Loghain's hand, "you're safe with me now, I'm here to protect you. Go to sleep, and when you wake in the morning I'll still be here." He felt Maric lick his forearm once, then run a small circle before lying down, nudging Loghain's hand lightly.

Lying on the pillow, Loghain watched as Maric leaned against the headboard and closed his eyes. When he was sure Maric had fallen asleep, he glanced at the clock, with 3.51am glaring back at him. Leaning over, he kissed Maric lightly on the head and whispered to him, before letting his own eyes fall shut.

"Goodnight, Maric. Sweet dreams."


End file.
